Let’s face it—we don’t all approach scrapbooking in the same way. From the way we take our pictures, to the way we talk about them, we each have our own personal flair and style of doing things. While some of us may prefer pocket scrapbooking to a traditional 12″ x 12″ layout, others may favor heavy embellishments and lots of extra trimmings—or both, or none of the above. The point is, it doesn’t really matter what your style is so long as it’s functional for you and you are getting your scrapping on.

We’ve got three examples for you today of the same story, using the exact same pictures and journaling on each, and even using the same paper collection and embellishments to show you that no matter what your preferences are, there is a method of scrapbooking out there that is right for you, and we have the tools to help you realize your vision! There really are so many other ways to preserve your memories, too, so if none of these apply to you, reach out to your Close To My Heart Consultant for even more ideas. (If you don’t have a Consultant, find one in your area by clicking on Find a Consultant under the What We Do tab on our website, here.)

Let’s start things off by taking a closer look at what a “traditional” scrapbooking page may look like.

One secret to this style of scrapbooking is starting with a pattern! Our patterns are easy to follow, thanks to paper cutting diagrams and exact measurements for paper and photo placement. Once you’ve got your page designed, whether you created it from scratch or used a pattern, it’s up to you to add your personal touches in the details.

One of the hallmarks of this style of scrapbooking is the detail work! There are a lot of embellishments and small details on this page subtly hidden in plain sight.

Bitty Sparkles were added to the center of flower stickers, other stickers were laid behind and on top of photos, papers are layered, the photos are slightly overlapping, a beautiful wood word accents the title while adding weight and texture to the page, and splatters of paint add character throughout—just to name a few 🙂 .

If you still like the idea of a 12″ x 12″ page but aren’t as interested in all the extra flourishes, take a look at this second variation.

This page follows a cleaner and simpler approach compared to the first, and still offers the same information. The photos are the same as is the journaling.

We still added some embellishments, including a different wood title, which stands alone in this example, but everything conforms with the cleaner “millennial” style that we’ve talked about in a previous post (Millennial-style Scrapbooking).

Our photos are once again square, but this time they are evenly spaced and arranged in a grid along with the journaling, which is also formatted in a square (very user friendly for all of those social media photos!). Other than the paper used to mat the white cardstock and journaling, there is very little use of additional patterns. The result is yet another beautiful page in a very different style.

Finally, we can’t talk about scrapbooking methods without talking about pockets. Our third example shows what this layout would look like in a pocket scrapbooker’s album. Rather than a single 12″ x 12″ empty canvas, with pocket scrapbooking you have as many blank canvases as you have pockets! You can get as creative and embellishment-heavy as you’d like, or keep things simple and fill most of your pockets with photos and readymade pocket cards with little to no embellishment.Our example is a bit more embellished than the average pocket scrapbooking page. Instead of using Picture My Life™ pocket cards, each pocket card is made from regular size patterned paper trimmed down to fit the pockets. Making your own pocket cards, or embellishing existing ones, is one place where you can add your personal touches to your scrapbooking.

Another place to showcase your personality is in your journaling. Instead of typing them up, create a more intimate setting for your memories by spelling them out in your own handwriting.

If you’re short on time and still want to scrapbook (which everyone should 😉 ) pocket scrapbooking also gives you the flexibility to add your photos first and fill in the empty pockets later. There’s less pressure to complete one page at a time as there is with the more “traditional” approaches.

Whatever your scrapbooking style is, we’re here to support it! Experiment with any or all of our examples above or come up with your own. In the comments below, we’d love to hear what has (and hasn’t) worked for you as you work on preserving your memories!

I love and almost always do 2-page layouts. In fact I think the only one-page layouts I do are the first and last pages of an album. I really struggle with what to do on the first page of the next 2-page layout when I have used a pocket page as page 2 in the pages before. Where can I find examples of 2-page layouts with the first page of the next layout being the pocket page or page one of the next 2-page layout? Thank you for all the ideas. Cathy

Jeanette Lynton

Meet Jeanette Lynton—wife, mother, artist, and Founder & CEO of one of the world’s leading companies in the papercrafting industry. This blog is dedicated to all who share her love of creativity. Visit often, share your stories, and become family!

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